Stress Relief & Socializing

This is written especially for those who, like me, enjoy socializing with friends, but can't quite face large (over 6 people), noisy gatherings when we're feeling stressed. Such get togethers simply drain our inner batteries more quickly during unsettled times and wear us out.

In the past, I followed the go-or-no principle. Since I really don't care for the shallow interactions of "cocktail party" events, they were easy to decline. But still I was left feeling a little left out if it involved friends or family.

After a lifetime of yes or no, I finally realized that the social gatherings that nourished me weren't all or nothing. Enjoying a 5-hour party for 2 or 3 hours and then leaving is sometimes just right. And theimportant people in my life don't think twice about a slightly early departure.

If you choose that route, I suggest you arrive at the start. Otherwise, you come into the middle of conversations and activities. Leave gracefully when you feel  happily satisfied. You will return home refreshed but not drained!

Happy socializing ~

Linda

Let Color Ease Your Stress

Ongoing stress can turn our whole world to shades of gray, both emotionally and physically. We neither see nor think in colors. Conversely, we can oten lighten the emotional load through simple splashes from the color wheel.

1. Use Crayons to write the reminders you put on your refrigerator door.
2. Tie a red scarf or bandana around your neck, head, wrist or ankle. Each time you glimpse it, smile at the inner, free spirit that lives along side your practical working self.
3. Stick a large canary-yellow posterboard on your office wall, and with the help of clear tape, use it as a bulletin board. Add a few children's stickers for fun.
4. Choose bright, kindergarten colors, i.e., red, yellow, green, orange, blue and purple, for your knitting and crocheting projects. (Making gifts for others that way will futher lighten your mood.)
5. Find a fairly smooth rock and using those bright markers, draw a smiling or silly face on it. Keep that Joy Rock on your desk or chair-side table as a good luck token.

 Let both the colors and the creativity lift and warm your heart.

Linda

Kindness for Stress-Relief

I recently stumbled upon an old fashioned sort of stress-reliever: kindness through giving. It started out as one of those chores we put off for years - cleaning out my bedroom closet. The reasons to put it off seemed to far outweigh my reasons to just do it.

1. I don't have time to tackle such a big job.
2. Once I start, I'll have to either finish the job or step over a massive pile of old clothes for weeks (or months) to come.
3. If this new-found self-discipline sticks, I'll lose enough weight to fit back into that.
4. That embroidered vest holds such loving memories for me, I can't bear to part with it!

Eventually, I realized that I only had to deal with one section of the closet at a time, that even if I could wear those outfits again, they were no longer my style, and that it was time for me to either pass that vest along or have it framed, I slid open the door and dug in.

Once those realities had sunk in, it took an amazingly short time to fill up two large trash bags with skirts, jackets, blouses and shoes for the clothing donations box a couple of miles away.

I drove down the street and pulled over beside the yellow, house-shaped container, and with a fine sense of accomplishment, I deposited first one plastic bag then the other. (Although I very nearly dove in after them to reclaim that vest!)

By the way, the vest was a lush dark green lined cotton with swirls of white and rust colored ribbon embroidery on the front~

But somehow, on the short drive home, my thoughts shifted from my loss of the vest to hoping that whoever wears it next will feel just as grand and self-confident as I had and create her own glowing memories. And I smiled right down through my heart!

It's a fact that kindness given stirs our body's production of seratonin (the calming hormone) and oxytocin (the snuggle hormone), but little did I realize how powerful it could be against long-term stress.

When you do decide to bite the bullet and tidy up your closet, think of it as a giving opportunity rather than a chore - it's a definite feel-good!

Happy giving ~

Lin